Newbie Luck
by Ashara Blackfyre
Summary: He never expected his college life to start smoothly, but he also didn't expect it to start... like that. Caught off-guard, Takumi finds himself on a very awkward social interaction that his homeschool days never prepared him for.


"May I remind you to hand-in your essays next class which is on Friday. Please don't forget as this shall cover the 50% of your grade." As the professor stopped talking, everyone started to get ready for another class. Not me. Not because I wanted to look cool and unique, but because I was a little self-conscious of my arrival.

I never studied in that college before. Nor a college in this country, to be fair. It was a new experience for me —from being totally homeschooled to suddenly sit in a class of 50 people. I'd already made some friends and potential job opportunities for the future; hell, I had a "social group" already. I got pretty popular really fast, and in the restrooms they called me the Wonder Foreigner. Two weeks in and my "sex appeal" was written in the netbooks of shy girls and their friends. Yes, I saw it. Yes, I was VERY creeped out with it.

As I was taking out my phone to read my messages, a hand laid on my shoulder. Getting a bit startled, I looked back and saw an angry looking girl behind me.

"Uh, yes?" I spoke. She sighed and frowned, looking at her friend.

"You're… Usui Takumi, right?"

"Yeah, I am." I smiled as brightly as I could, but it did nothing but make her cringe.

"My friend wants to talk with you. Her name is Sakura, and she thinks you're quite handsome."

"MISAKI, NO!" The girl accompanying her shut her mouth immediately. "I'm so sorry, that's not what I wanted to say at all! I have a boyfriend already! My name is Sakura and I just transferred to this college, too, so… I'm looking to meet new faces. What do you think? No feelings involved at all, I promise!"

I laughed heartily. What a cute interaction, I thought. Maybe this won't be as bad. "Sure, Sak-eh-ura."

The black-haired friend tried to hold back her laugh, failing for a bit. I saw that.

"It's… actually Sakura. It is as it is written. No need to put accents."

"Hell, Sak. You cannot tell people to drop their accent immediately. That's not how it works."

"Yeah, uh… my bad." She hid her red face behind her strawberry blonde hair.

I stood up, amused. "What about you, wingwoman? You're Misaki, right?"

"Mmm? Oh, yeah. Please, call me Ayuzawa. I'm not used to being that informal."

I nodded, scanning her. She noticed my interest immediately and grabbed her backpack, avoiding my gaze. _I'll be going_ , she whispered and ran away from the class. I felt some guilt building up to me, but I brushed it off quickly. _I acted like a feral animal_ , I shook my head and smiled at Sakura.

"Sorry about that. But don't worry! I'm sure she'll warm up to you. Unless you're a predator. Please don't be a predator."

I frowned, slightly insulted. "Why would I?"

"Oh?" She raised her eyebrows, surprised. "Don't you know? This used to be an only-men college until… pretty much last year. So some men are really predatory on fresh girls here."

"That's awful." I scratched the back of my neck, tense. "Have you experienced some harassment on this classroom? I have some influence here, so maybe I could help."

"Oh, no! Don't worry. Also, Misaki would've smacked your head if she had heard you say that! We feel pretty safe. This is a really decent classroom; you know?" Her phone rang and she answered. Her voice, bubbly and energetic, made me feel a little cornered. Maybe because I wasn't used to that much extroversion. She hung up and quickly parted off. I sat alone, looking through my phone before I realized that I had to go home.

The next day came and went faster than I wanted to. I conversed with my group a bit before the girls from earlier caught my attention. We only had one class in common, so I went to them.

"Hey, looking stressed?"

"Takumi! You ignored us the whole class!" Sakura pouted jokingly. I smiled and shrugged it. _How am I supposed to interact mid-class if you're half a room away?_

"Sakura, please don't." Misaki stopped her and looked at me. "Seems you have made some friends, huh? Not bad for a newbie. But I guess you could do better."

Was she challenging me? The hell? I laughed in confusion and amusement. "Well, I'm not particularly interested in socializing. This semester is going to be hell on earth if teachers speak the truth."

She paused and frowned, immensely insulted. What on earth was going on? Even Sakura was a bit confused by her behavior. "So aren't we worthy of your company?"

"Misaki? What the heck…?" Sakura whispered, grabbing her by the arm.

"I… surely didn't mean that." I raised an eyebrow, grabbing my things. "Am I not worth of your company that you're insulting me to drive me away?"

"Oh, so you're the victim now, blondie?" The attention had turned on us. I felt a cold sweat on my back, but I maintained a poker face all through. I raised an eyebrow, trying not to show how offended I was.

"Why the fuck do you dislike me so much? If I accidentally kicked your dog on the way here without realizing I'm sorry, but you're embarrassing not only me nor you, but your friend."

"Oh? Did you say sorry when you dumped my sister for, quoting your exact words, 'being a lazy whore'? You think it's okay to play around like that, magazine boy? Oh look at me, I'm rich as fuck! I call girls who don't follow my strict stupid rules whores!"

I froze with my mouth half open. I blinked in confusion, trying to make sense of what she had said. I looked around me, my classmates in silence. I cleared my throat, and Sakura shut her mouth before saying anything. "Come again?"

"What, anything to say, Oda Takumi? You gonna call me a whore, too?"

Someone giggled behind me. I couldn't make sense of what was happening here, but there was one thing I knew: my surname wasn't Oda, and I was sure as hell I didn't date any Japanese girl _before_ that.

"My… my second name isn't Oda."

"Oh? So am I mistaken?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure you are. Whoever that Oda guy is, I pray he doesn't find you… I'm Usui. Usui Walker Takumi."

Now it was her time to freeze. She looked at me, directly. Her amber eyes were looking for an expression. I wasn't sure which one, but she was. Slowly, creeping from her cheeks then her whole face, a redness so bright it could make anyone blind colored her pale complexion. She nodded, some embarrassment tears showing up in her eyes. _Oh shit, is she about to cry? What should I do?_

"I… I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll… go. Sorry. Fuck." She whispered, clearly mortified. She grabbed her things and ran off the classroom without saying another word. Sakura panicked and followed her.

I stood, being the center of attention. Someone put a hand on my shoulder. "Hey man, it's ok. It is known that she doesn't have the best temperament of anyone… possibly ever."

"What? Has this happened before?"

"Well… not to this point, though. She does free her anger towards men and tries to make the girls comfortable. I don't associate with her for that."

"Well, now that's interesting."

"Huh, is it? We got some girls like that around here, but she takes the cake as the demon woman. Don't beat yourself up for this, buddy. This won't ruin your reputation, but it will damage hers."

School ended and I went for dinner at some shady restaurant. Cheap ramen with the taste of a 5-star restaurant. Hoping I wouldn't get an infection next morning, I ate it like it was the last thing I would ever eat. I wasn't used to that much spice, so I had trouble finishing it off.

"Hey." A soft, weak voice called out to me. I turned around. It was the demon girl, what was she doing here?

"Hey. I'm still not that Oda guy, if you're wondering."

"Please don't." She shook her head, still embarrassed. She had a cup of water on her hand, and for a moment I suspected she was going to throw it on my face. "I… brought you this. Please enjoy your dinner."

She placed the cup on my table. I stared at it a few seconds before I exploded into laughter. She frowned but didn't say anything. "Did you come all the way from your house to apologize and bring me water?"

"I… uh… work here."

Ah, yes. Karma took me slowly and my laughter soon ended. Uncomfortable, I pretended to play with my chopsticks and nodded. "Sorry. That was an asshole thing to say."

"The chef saw you were having trouble eating it, so she made me bring you this cup of water. If you still cannot finish it, she says she can make you another ramen free of spices with no cost at all. She really likes you."

"That's really generous of her, thanks. But I'm almost finished anyway. Sorry for the inconvenience."

"Yeah. Talking about inconveniences… sorry for… earlier. My sister is pretty down about her break up, even though it was six months ago. You had his exact name, and matched some of the characteristics she said he had, so…"

"Mm? Sorry?"

She frowned, clearly insulted. Her cheeks turned red. "I will not repeat it again, sir! Please enjoy your food!" And stormed off. I smiled and finished off my ramen. I stood up, took a piece of paper and wrote on it.

M

I spent an unholy amount of time hiding in the kitchen with the excuse that the other waitresses were taking care of the clients. It was partially true, but they needed help. However, I couldn't bring myself to go out and see his face again. I would had to confront him next Monday, but for the time being I decided I wasn't ready. I sighed. I had to work, money wouldn't come while chatting with the boss.

I got out, but he wasn't there. As I approached his former table, I became warier of it. A tip of 5000JPY rested on it, with a carefully folded piece of paper under it.

" _Sorry for any embarrassment or misunderstanding I may have caused,_

 _I sincerely hope it doesn't bring you future trouble. Here's a little tip to compensate for it_

 _By the way, you're kind of cute. Wanna hang out tomorrow?_

 _-Not that Oda guy, for sure."_

My face went red. I averted my gaze from the paper, as if blaming it for my shyness. When I checked no one was looking at me, I discreetly saved the paper in my pockets and smiled, but only a little. Didn't want to be the center of attention yet again.


End file.
